`Near-military` Mukherjee

Afraid that a throat ailment could blunt his presentation of the Budget in the raucous well of the Lok Sabha, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee paid a visit to New Delhi's Army Research and Referral Hospital a couple of days ago and asked the Brigadier in-charge to apply "near-military" treatment to restore his voice. He is said to have insisted that his vocal function be perfect on March 16, even joking that he wouldn't mind if it was "completely destroyed" subsequently. "The reply [to the Budget] I will somehow manage," Mukherjee is understood to have told the army doctor. Certainly, the life of India's finance minister isn't easy!